Seasonal hiring may set records this year

Wednesday

Oct 2, 2013 at 12:01 AM

By JUSTINE GRIFFIN

Retailers are hiring seasonal, part-time workers in record numbers this year, despite early predictions for a flat holiday season.

Several chain stores already are hiring in record amounts. Walmart is hiring 55,000 and is switching another 35,000 employees from temporary to part-time status and another 35,000 from part-time to full-time status. Last year, Walmart hired 50,000.

Walmart's hiring already has begun in Southwest Florida, said Dan Houston, store manager of the Supercenter on Tamiami Trail in Osprey.

"We are filling positions at all four Walmarts in Sarasota County already," Houston said.

Macy's will hire 83,000 workers for the season, up 3.8 percent from the year before. The department store chain is recruiting 775 workers in this region to work in stores from Naples to Sarasota, spokeswoman Melissa Goff said.

Bradenton-based Bealls Inc. will begin hiring for seasonal employees in mid to late October, said spokesman Bill Webster, though the company does not yet know how many workers will be needed.

"What's different about this year is that we plan to keep on a lot more of our seasonal hires," Webster said. "Come Dec. 27, we switch gears from the holidays to snowbird season and with Easter at the end of April, we're in for a long season."

Amazon.com, the leading online rival of many retail chains, said it will hire 70,000 workers, a 40 percent increase from what the Seattle-based company hired in 2012. The Internet shopping giant does not have any operations in Southwest Florida now, but it is widely reported to be looking into building a distribution center in the Brandon area.

The hiring picture isn't all positive, however.

One exception to this year's increased hiring pattern is Target, which plans to hire 70,000, compared with 88,000 last year.

And a forecast by an outplacement research firm predicts that 2013 holiday hiring won't match last year's.

But holiday hiring will hover in the 700,000 range this year, according to research by Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.

"There are several factors that could keep holiday hiring from reaching last year's level," said John Challenger, the company's chief executive officer. "While the economy and job market are improving, it has now been four years since the recession officially ended, and millions of Americans are still unemployed or underemployed.

Retailers have taken notice, and they learned lessons about efficiency during the depths of the downturn.

"Whether it is related to increased online shopping or the shakiness in consumer confidence, the expectation that there will be fewer people in the stores could prompt some retailers to reduce the number of extra people they will need on the sales floor," Challenger said.

"The fact is that retailers are getting smarter about staffing."

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.